Methods and systems for supplying water to an aircraft

ABSTRACT

There are described methods and systems for supplying water to an aircraft. A water supply assembly is fluidly coupled to a water storage tank via a supply line. An overflow line is fluidly coupled to the water supply assembly. One or more sensors are configured to determine an amount of water in the water storage tank. One or more processors are communicative with the one or more sensors and configured to: determine a desired amount of water to be contained in the water storage tank; determine from the one or more sensors that an amount of water in the water storage tank corresponds to the desired amount of water; and, in response to determining that the amount of water in the water storage tank corresponds to the desired amount of water, transmit an instruction for causing water being supplied from the water supply assembly to the water storage tank to be diverted to the overflow line.

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/170,640, filed Oct. 25, 2018, the entirety of which is herebyincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to methods and systems for supplyingwater to an aircraft.

BACKGROUND TO THE DISCLOSURE

Aircraft generally comprise water storage tanks for storing potablewater. The water storage tank is fluidly coupled, via variousdistribution lines, to outlets on the aircraft so that potable water maybe supplied to different points in the aircraft. For example, water isrequired for making hot beverages that are routinely distributed to thepassengers and crew, for use in the lavatories, etc.

Typically, once an aircraft has landed and is parked at the airportgate, the water storage tank will be refilled. This usually involvesground crew connecting a ground water supply to the aircraft waterstorage tank by means of one or more supply lines. Water from the supplytank is then pumped to the aircraft's water storage tank. The groundcrew usually do not know how much water is remaining in the waterstorage tank prior to refilling. Consequently, aircraft are typicallyfitted with a drain mast on the underside of the fuselage. The drainmast is fluidly coupled to the water storage tank and receives overflowwater once the water storage tank is full. Ground crew will typicallyrefill the storage tank until water is seen to flow out of theaircraft's drain mast. Water exiting the aircraft via the drain mast isa sign to the ground crew that the storage tank is full, and refillingis complete.

Refilling the water storage tank to its maximum capacity usually meansthat, following the aircraft's next flight, excess water will remain inthe tank, since not all the water will have been consumed during theflight. Excess water means that additional fuel is required during theflight, driving up costs. However, if a storage tank is not completelyrefilled, there is a risk that insufficient water will be supplied tothe aircraft prior to its next flight.

The present disclosure seeks to provide improved methods and systems forsupplying water to an aircraft, that seek to address at least some ofthe deficiencies in the prior art.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In a first aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a method forsupplying water to an aircraft. A desired amount of water to becontained in a water storage tank onboard an aircraft is determined.Water is supplied via a supply line to the water storage tank. An amountof water contained in the water storage tank that corresponds to thedesired amount of water is determined. In response to determining thatthe amount of water contained in the water storage tank corresponds tothe desired amount of water, the supply of water is diverted away fromthe water storage tank and to an overflow line.

Prior to determining the desired amount of water to be contained in thewater storage tank, a selection of the desired amount of water to bereceived in the water storage tank may be received. Receiving theselection may comprise receiving a selection of a volume of water to becontained in the water storage tank. Receiving the selection maycomprise: receiving a selection of a percentage of a volume of the waterstorage tank to be filled with water; or receiving a selection of avolume of water to be supplied to the water storage tank.

Supplying water to the water storage tank may comprise supplying waterto the water storage tank from a water supply assembly comprising awater supply tank and the supply line.

Diverting the supply of water may comprise activating an overflow valvefluidly coupling the water supply assembly and an overflow line.Diverting the supply of water may comprise moving the overflow valvefrom a first position, in which water is prevented from flowing betweenthe water supply assembly and the overflow line, to a second position inwhich water is prevented from flowing between the water supply assemblyand the water storage tank.

The aircraft may be determined to be in a pre-takeoff taxi mode. Inresponse to determining that the aircraft is in the pre-takeoff taximode, the overflow valve may be moved from the second position to thefirst position. Determining that the aircraft is in the pre-takeoff taximode may comprise determining that a parking brake of the aircraft isdeactivated.

Prior to determining the desired amount of water to be contained in thewater storage tank, the aircraft may be determined to be in a parkedmode. Determining the aircraft is in the parked mode may comprisedetermining that a parking brake of the aircraft is activated.

Diverting the supply of water may comprise diverting the supply of wateraway from the water storage tank and to a drain mast of the aircraft,via the overflow line.

Determining the desired amount of water to be contained in the waterstorage tank may comprise using historical water consumption data.

The water may be treated at one or more points in the supply line.

Determining that the amount of water in the water storage tankcorresponds to the desired amount of water may comprise using one ormore of: a water level sensor for determining an amount of watercontained in the water storage tank; and a flow sensor for determining arate of flow of water into the water storage tank.

In a further aspect of the disclosures, there is provided a system forsupplying water to an aircraft. The system comprises a water supplyassembly; a water storage tank fluidly coupled to the water supplyassembly; an overflow line fluidly coupled to the water supply assembly;one or more sensors configured to determine an amount of water in thewater storage tank; and one or more processors communicative with theone or more sensors. The one or more sensors are configured to determinea desired amount of water to be contained in the water storage tank;determine from the one or more sensors that an amount of water in thewater storage tank corresponds to the desired amount of water; and inresponse to determining that the amount of water in the storage tankcorresponds to the desired amount of water, transmit an instruction forcausing water being supplied from the water supply assembly to the waterstorage tank to be diverted away from the water storage tank and to theoverflow line.

The system may further comprise a user interface communicative with theone or more processors. The one or more processors may be furtherconfigured to receive via the user interface a selection of the desiredamount of water to be received in the water storage tank. The selectionmay comprise a selection of a volume of water to be contained in thestorage tank. The selection may comprise: a selection of a percentage ofa volume of the water storage tank to be filled with water; or aselection of a volume of water to be supplied to the water storage tank.

The water supply assembly may comprise: a water supply tank; and asupply line fluidly coupling the water supply tank and the water storagetank. The overflow line may be fluidly coupled to the supply line. Thesystem may further comprise an overflow valve fluidly coupling the watersupply assembly and the overflow line. The overflow valve may bemoveable between a first position in which water is prevented fromflowing between the water supply assembly and the overflow line, and asecond position in which water is prevented from flowing between thewater supply assembly and the water storage tank.

The instruction may comprise an instruction to move the overflow valvefrom the first position to the second position.

The one or more processors may be further configured to: determine thatthe aircraft is in a pre-takeoff taxi mode; and in response todetermining that the aircraft is in the pre-takeoff taxi mode, transmitan instruction to cause the overflow valve to move from the secondposition to the first position. The one or more processors may befurther configured to determine that the aircraft is in the pre-takeofftaxi mode by determining that a parking brake of the aircraft isdeactivated.

The one or more processors may be further configured to determine thatthe aircraft is in a parked mode. The one or more processors may befurther configured to determine that the aircraft is in the parked modeby determining that a parking brake of the aircraft is activated.

The overflow valve may comprise a motorized valve.

The system may further comprise an aircraft drain mast fluidly coupledto the overflow line.

The one or more sensors may comprise at least one of: a water levelsensor for determining an amount of water contained in the water storagetank; and a flow sensor for determining a rate of flow of water into thewater storage tank.

The one or more processors may be further configured to determine thedesired amount of water to be contained in the water storage tank byusing historical water usage data.

The system may further comprise a treatment apparatus for treating waterat one or more points in the water supply assembly.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, there is provided anon-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computerprogram code, wherein the computer program code is configured, whenexecuted by a computer, to cause the computer to carry out a method. Themethod comprises determining a desired amount of water to be containedin a water storage tank; determining an amount of water contained in thewater storage tank; determining that the amount of water in the waterstorage tank corresponds to the desired amount of water; and in responseto determining that the amount of water in the water storage tankcorresponds to the desired amount of water, transmitting an instructionfor causing a supply of water to the water storage tank to be divertedaway from the water storage tank and to an overflow line.

Determining the desired amount of water may comprise determining thedesired amount of water from a selection of the desired amount of waterto be received in the water storage tank. The selection may comprise aselection of a volume of water to be contained in the water storagetank. The selection may comprise: a selection of a percentage of avolume of the water storage tank to be filled with water; or a selectionof a volume of water to be supplied to the water storage tank.

Transmitting the instruction may comprise transmitting an instructionfor activating an overflow valve fluidly coupling a water supplyassembly and the overflow line. Transmitting the instruction maycomprise transmitting an instruction for moving the overflow valve froma first position in which water is prevented from flowing between thewater supply assembly and the overflow line, to a second position inwhich water is prevented from flowing between the water supply assemblyand the water storage tank.

The method may further comprise: determining that the aircraft is in apre-takeoff taxi mode; and in response to determining that the aircraftis in the pre-takeoff taxi mode, transmitting an instruction to causethe overflow valve to move from the second position to the firstposition. Determining that the aircraft is in the pre-takeoff taxi modemay comprise determining that a parking brake of the aircraft ifdeactivated.

The method may further comprise: prior to determining the desired amountof water to be contained in a water storage tank, determining that theaircraft is in a parked mode. Determining the aircraft is in the parkedmode may comprise determining that a parking brake of the aircraft isactivated.

Determining the desired amount of water to be contained in the waterstorage tank may comprise using historical water usage data.

In a further aspect of the disclosure, there is provided a kit of partscomprising: an overflow valve; and instructions for fluidly coupling theoverflow valve to a water supply assembly and an overflow line, thewater supply assembly comprising a water supply tank fluidly coupled toa supply line fluidly coupled to a water storage tank onboard anaircraft. The overflow valve is moveable between a first position inwhich water is prevented from flowing between the water supply assemblyand the overflow line, and a second position in which water is preventedfrom flowing between the water supply assembly and the water storagetank.

The instructions may further be for coupling the overflow valve to thesupply line.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Specific embodiments of the disclosure will now be described inconnection with the accompanying drawings, of which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for supplying water to anaircraft, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure; and

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a method for supplying water to anaircraft, in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure seeks to provide improved methods and systems forsupplying water to an aircraft. While various embodiments of thedisclosure are described below, the disclosure is not limited to theseembodiments, and variations of these embodiments may well fall withinthe scope of the disclosure which is to be limited only by the appendedclaims.

In the present disclosure, unless the context clearly indicatesotherwise:

-   -   (a) Directional terms such as “top”, “bottom”, “upwards”,        “downwards”, “vertically”, and “laterally” are used for the        purpose of providing relative reference only, and are not        intended to suggest any limitations on how any article is to be        positioned during use, or to be mounted in an assembly or        relative to an environment.    -   (b) The term “couple” and variants of it such as “coupled”,        “couples”, and “coupling” are intended to include indirect and        direct connections. For example, if a first device is coupled to        a second device, that coupling may be through a direct        connection or through an indirect connection via other devices        and connections. Similarly, if the first device is        communicatively coupled to the second device, communication may        be through a direct connection or through an indirect connection        via other devices and connections.    -   (c) The singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” are intended to        include the plural forms as well.    -   (d) When used in conjunction with a numerical value, the words        “about” and “approximately” mean within +/−10% of that numerical        value, unless the context indicates otherwise.

Turning to FIG. 1 , there is shown an embodiment of a resupply systemfor supplying water to an aircraft. The resupply system comprises awater storage tank 10 fluidly coupled to a water supply assembly 12.Water supply assembly 12 comprises a water supply tank 14, a supply line16 fluidly coupled to water supply tank 14, and a pump 18 operable topump water stored in water supply tank 14 through supply line 16.

Supply line 16 extends from water supply tank 14 to water storage tank10, thereby fluidly coupling water supply tank 14 and water storage tank10. Supply line 16 passes through a potable water service panel 20 andis further fluidly coupled to an upload water treatment assembly 22.Upload water treatment assembly 22 comprises means for treating water asit passes through supply line 16. For example, upload water treatmentassembly 22 may include an ultraviolet radiation emitter for treatingwater as it passes through supply line 16.

Supply line 16 is further fluidly coupled to an overflow valve 24.Overflow valve 24 is fluidly coupled to an overboard dump port 28, suchas an aircraft drain mast, via an overflow line 26. Overflow valve 24 isfurthermore fluidly coupled to water storage tank 10. Overflow valve 24is moveable between a first, resupply position in which water isprevented from flowing between supply line 16 and overflow line 26, anda second, overflow position in which water is prevented from flowingbetween supply line 16 and water storage tank 10.

Water storage tank 10 is further fluidly coupled to various usage points30 onboard the aircraft, via a water delivery line 32. For example,water contained in water storage tank 10 may be delivered by an onboardpump to a lavatory galley 34 connected in parallel to water deliveryline 32. Alternatively, the water may be delivered in-flight to lavatorygalley 34 using the aircraft's pressurization system to generate apressure differential.

FIG. 1 further shows in schematic form a water resupply control assembly36. Control assembly 36 comprises a communications system 38, a display40 and an aircraft data database 42, each communicatively coupled to acontrol module 44. Aircraft data database 42 stores data such as filllevel data prior to takeoff and landing, as well as water consumptiondata. In particular, aircraft data database 42 stores readings of thelevel of water held in water storage tank 10 before both takeoff andlanding. Communications system 38 is configured to communicate (forexample over a WiFi network or a GSM network) with other electronicdevices for transferring water consumption data. For example, waterconsumption data may be transferred from aircraft data database 42 to aground-based receiver, using communications system 38. The waterconsumption data may be used by an airline, for example, to establishlikely water consumption for given flight. The likely water consumptionmay then be provided to an aircraft's crew prior to takeoff, so that theaircraft's crew may enter an appropriate fill level (see below) when thewater resupply method described herein is carried out.

Control module 44 comprises one or more processors communicativelycoupled to computer memory having computer program code stored thereon.The computer program code is configured, when read by the one or moreprocessors, to carry out any of the methods described herein. Controlmodule 44 is further configured to receive data from communicationssystem 38 and aircraft data database 40, and cause data to be displayedon display 40. Input received at display 40 (for example via atouch-sensitive user interface) is received at control module 44.

Control module 44 is communicatively coupled to overflow valve 24. Inparticular, control module 44 is operable to transmit an instruction tooverflow valve 24 to cause overflow valve 24 to move between the supplyand overflow positions. In one embodiment, overflow valve 24 is amotorized valve operable to activate upon receipt of an instruction fromcontrol module 44, the instruction being configured to cause a motor ofoverflow valve 24 to operate. In some embodiments, control module 44 isconfigured to communicate with a universal remote control (URC) providedon upload water treatment assembly 22. The URC may receive aninstruction from control module 44 to activate overflow valve 24, and inresponse the URC may send an instruction to cause overflow valve 24 tomove between the supply and overflow positions.

Control module 44 is further configured to send an instruction to causeupload water treatment assembly 22 to pre-heat its UV radiation emitterwhen treatment of water is anticipated. For example, control module 44may instruct upload water treatment assembly 22 to pre-heat its UVradiation emitter in response to the aircraft's parking break beingactivated.

Control module 44 is further communicatively coupled to a transmitter47, which in turn is communicatively coupled to a water level sensor 46positioned in water storage tank 10. Readings from water level sensor 46are sent to transmitter 47 which transmits the readings to controlmodule 44. Water level sensor 46 is configured to determine an amount ofwater contained in water storage tank 10. Once water level sensor 46 hasdetermined an amount of water contained in water storage tank 10, thesensor reading is sent to transmitter 47 which transmits the reading tocontrol module 44. In other embodiments, water level sensor 46 may beconfigured to communicate directly with control module 44, and/orcontrol module 44 may obtain the water level readings from water levelsensor 46 in an active manner, without requiring water level sensor 46to transmit the water level readings.

In some embodiments, a flow meter 48 (positioned upstream of overflowvalve 24, in FIG. 1 ) is also used to determine an amount of watercontained in water storage tank 10. In particular, flow meter 48 may beused to measure a rate of water flow into water storage tank 10 duringresupply. The initial amount of water contained in water storage tank 10will be known from a reading taken by water level sensor 46. Duringresupply, the accuracy of the readings taken by water level sensor 46may decrease (for example due to splashing as water enters water storagetank 10). Thus, the rate of flow of water into water storage tank 10, asdetermined by flow meter 48, may be taken into consideration andcombined with the initial water level reading in order to determine anamount of water contained in water storage tank 10.

A method for supplying water to an aircraft will now be described, withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2 . FIG. 2 shows a flowchart of an exemplarymethod that may be used by the resupply system of FIG. 1 . Note that inother embodiments, more or fewer blocks/operations may be used in themethod, and the order of the blocks/operations may also be modifiedwithout departing from the scope of the disclosure.

The method begins at block 100 wherein resupply system 10 is activated.Resupply system 10 may be activated in response to control module 44receiving a sensor signal from a weight-on-wheels sensor (WoW sensor).As known in the art, a WoW sensor determines when the aircraftundercarriage is in contact with the ground by detecting a weightapplied to the undercarriage. The WoW sensor is communicative withcontrol module 44 which, in response to receiving a signal indicative ofthe aircraft's touchdown, activates resupply system 10.

At block 102, control module 44 determines that the aircraft is in aparked state. For example, control module 44 may determine that theaircraft's parking brake has been engaged. Other means of determiningthat the aircraft is in a parked state are contemplated.

In response to determining that the aircraft is in a parked state, atblock 104 control module 44 requests from transmitter 47 for a readingof the water level contained in water storage tank 10, as measured bywater level sensor 46. At block 106, the reading is stored in aircraftdata database 42. Blocks 104 and 106 may loop continuously until, forexample, the resupply system is deactivated. For instance, controlmodule 44 may request water level readings at periodic intervals, forexample every second, and each reading may be stored in aircraft datadatabase 42. At block 108, a WiFi module associated with communicationssystem 36 is activated. The aircraft crew may then access, via the WiFinetwork, aircraft data database 42 to ascertain the current amount ofwater in water storage tank 10.

At block 110, control module 44 determines whether a new storage tankfill preset has been entered. For example, a crew member, using display40, may input to control module 44 an amount of water that is desired tobe contained in water storage tank 10. The input may take various forms.For example, in one embodiment the crew member may specify a volume ofwater desired to be contained in water storage tank 10. In anotherembodiment, a crew member may input a percentage of the total volume ofwater storage tank 10 that they desire to have filled with water. Forinstance, the crew member may select 50% of water storage tank 10 to befilled with water, or 75% of water storage tank 10 to be filled withwater. In other embodiments, the crew member may adjust the total volumeof water desired to be contained in water storage tank 10 in incrementsof a preset number volume units, or a preset number of percentages.

If control module 44 determines that a new fill preset has been entered,then, at block 112, control module 44 compares the amount of watercontained in water storage tank 10 (the value of which is periodicallycommunicated to control module 44 by transmitter 47, as discussed above)to the new fill preset. If control module 44 determines that no new fillpreset has been entered, then, at block 114, control module 44 comparesthe amount of water contained in water storage tank 10 (the value ofwhich is periodically communicated to control module 44 by transmitter47, as discussed above) to a previous fill preset. In one embodiment,the previous fill preset may be the last fill preset entered via display40.

In either case, at block 116, control module 44 determines whether theamount of water contained in water storage tank 10 is greater than thefill preset. If so, then the amount of water contained in water storagetank 10 is already greater than that desired for the aircraft'ssubsequent flight and there is no need to proceed with the resupply.Accordingly, the process moves to block 130. If the amount of watercontained in water storage tank 10 is less than the fill preset, thenthe process moves to block 118. At block 118, the ground crew connectsupply line 16 between potable water service panel 20 and water supplytank 14. At block 120, pump 18 is then activated and water is pumpedfrom water supply tank 14 to water storage tank 10, via supply line 16.As water flows through supply line 16, it is treated by upload watertreatment assembly 22 so as to be substantially potable and suitable foruse by passengers and crew. During resupply, overflow valve 24 is in thefirst, resupply position so as to allow water to flow to water storagetank 10 and prevent water from flowing along overflow line 26.

During resupply, at block 122 the current level of water in waterstorage tank 10 is compared to the new/previous fill preset (asappropriate). If the current level of water is less than thenew/previous fill preset, then the process repeats at block 122. If thecurrent level of water is greater than the new/previous fill preset,then the process moves from block 124 to block 126 at which control 44transmits an instruction to cause overflow valve 24 to move from theresupply position to the overflow position. For example, control module44 may issue an instruction to cause a motor to move overflow valve 24from the resupply position to the overflow position. In the overflowposition, water flowing along supply line 16 is prevented from flowingto water storage water tank 10 and instead is diverted to overflow line26. The overflow water then exits the aircraft via overboard dump port28, which may be a drain mast of the aircraft.

Upon observing the egress of water from overboard dump port 28, at block128, the ground crew deactivate pump 18 to cease resupply of water tothe aircraft. Furthermore, supply line 16 is disconnected from potablewater service panel 20. The ground crew need not be aware of how muchwater has been supplied to the aircraft. In particular, the activationof overflow valve 24, in response to control module 44 determining thatthe amount of water in water storage tank 10 has reached the fillpreset, is automatic. Thus, no additional training of the ground crew isrequired.

Once aircraft is ready for takeoff, at block 130, control module 44determines that the aircraft is in a pre-takeoff taxi mode. For example,control module 44 may determine that the aircraft's parking brake hasbeen disengaged. Other means of determining that the aircraft is in ataxi mode are contemplated. At block 132, control module 44 instructsoverflow valve 24 to return to the resupply position, in preparation forthe subsequent resupply following the aircraft's next flight. At block134, control module stored the current water level in aircraft datadatabase 42. At block 136, the resupply system is deactivated. Forexample, control module 44 may enter a sleep mode to conserve power.

In some embodiments, control module 44 may continuously check to seewhether one or more new fill presets have been entered. If a new fillpreset is entered which is greater than the previous fill preset, and ifoverflow valve 24 has already been moved to the overflow position, thencontrol module 44 will instruct overflow valve 24 to return to theresupply position so as to allow water to flow to water storage tank 10.For example, if the crew initially indicated to control module 44 that50% of water storage tank 10 is required to be filled, but then increasethe fill preset to 75%, then control module 44 will take into accountthe new fill preset during resupply.

In some embodiments, the fill preset may be automatically determined bycontrol module 44. For example, the control module 44 may accessaircraft data database 42 to obtain details of the aircraft's nextupcoming flight (distance, expected passenger capacity, etc.). Based onthis data, which may be supplemented with historical data from previousflights, control module 44 may estimate the amount of water, and acorresponding fill preset, that is required for the next flight. Inother embodiments, the fill preset may be automatically determined by aflight computer external to control module 44, and the fill preset maybe automatically sent to control module 44 by the flight computer. Thecrew may adjust the fill preset as they see fit.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with specificembodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limitedto these embodiments, and that alterations, modifications, andvariations of these embodiments may be carried out by the skilled personwithout departing from the scope of the disclosure. It is furthermorecontemplated that any part of any aspect or embodiment discussed in thisspecification can be implemented or combined with any part of any otheraspect or embodiment discussed in this specification.

What is claimed is:
 1. A non-transitory computer-readable medium havingstored thereon computer program code, wherein the computer program codeis configured, when executed by one or more processors, to cause the oneor more processors to carry out a method comprising: receiving a storagetank fill preset indicative of a desired amount of water to be containedin a water storage tank onboard an aircraft, wherein the desired amountof water is less than a maximum amount of water that can be contained inthe water storage tank; during supplying of water from a water supplyassembly to the water storage tank, determining an amount of watercontained in the water storage tank; determining, based on the storagetank fill preset and the determined amount of water contained in thewater storage tank, that the amount of water contained in the waterstorage tank corresponds to the storage tank fill preset; and inresponse to determining that the amount of water contained in the waterstorage tank corresponds to the storage tank fill preset, activating anoverflow valve fluidly coupling the water supply assembly and anoverflow line to thereby divert the supplying of water away from thewater storage tank and to the overflow line, and wherein the activationof the overflow valve is automatic such that no intervention from groundcrew is required in order to activate the overflow valve.
 2. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein receivingthe storage tank fill preset comprises receiving a selection of thedesired amount of water to be contained in the water storage tank. 3.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 2, whereinreceiving the selection comprises receiving a selection of a volume ofwater to be contained in the water storage tank.
 4. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 2, wherein receiving the selectioncomprises receiving: a selection of a percentage of a volume of thewater storage tank to be filled with water; or a selection of a volumeof water to be supplied to the water storage tank.
 5. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein activating the overflowvalve comprises moving the overflow valve from a first position, inwhich water is prevented from flowing between the water supply assemblyand the overflow line, and allowed to flow between the water supplyassembly and the water storage tank, to a second position, in whichwater is prevented from flowing between the water supply assembly andthe water storage tank, and allowed to flow between the water supplyassembly and the overflow line.
 6. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 1, wherein the overflow valve comprises a motorizedvalve.
 7. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1,wherein the method further comprises: prior to activating the overflowvalve, determining that the aircraft is in a pre-takeoff taxi mode. 8.The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7, whereindetermining that the aircraft is in the pre-takeoff taxi mode comprisesdetermining that a parking brake of the aircraft is deactivated.
 9. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the methodfurther comprises: prior to receiving the storage tank fill preset,determining that the aircraft is in a parked mode.
 10. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein determiningthat the aircraft is in the parked mode comprises determining that aparking brake of the aircraft is activated.
 11. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the overflow line connectsthe overflow valve to an overboard dump port of the aircraft.
 12. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 1, wherein the storagetank fill preset is based on historical water consumption data.
 13. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 12, wherein thehistorical water consumption data comprises historical data fromprevious flights.
 14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium ofclaim 1, wherein receiving the storage tank fill preset comprisesreceiving input from one or more of: a water level sensor fordetermining the amount of water contained in the water storage tank; anda flow meter for determining a rate of flow of water into the waterstorage tank.
 15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim1, wherein activating the overflow valve is performed when the aircraftis not in flight.